Mickelson Nearly Breaks 36-Hole Mark

By The Associated Press

Feb. 1, 2013

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A day after shooting an 11-under-par 60, Phil Mickelson posted a 65 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Friday to reach 17-under 125, a stroke off the PGA Tour record for the first two rounds of a tournament.

Mickelson missed a chance to break or tie the 36-hole scoring record, set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic and matched by David Toms at Colonial in 2011, when he finished with a double bogey after driving into the water at TPC Scottsdale. He still tied the Phoenix Open record, set by Mark Calcavecchia in 2001.

“Unfortunately, I made a double on the last hole and didn’t finish the way I wanted to,” Mickelson said. “But I think it’s a good example of what can happen on this course. You can make a lot of birdies and eagles, make up a lot of ground, but there’s a lot of water and trouble there that if you misstep you can easily make bogeys and double.”

On Thursday, Mickelson had a chance to finish with a 59, but his 25-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, his last, caught the right edge of the cup, curled 180 degrees and stayed out. A day later, with little at stake on the par-4 hole, he hit to 4 feet and rolled a downhill putt into the center of the cup for a birdie.

Mickelson’s double bogey on the 18th left him four strokes ahead of Bill Haas and five in front of Keegan Bradley and Brandt Snedeker. Haas shot 64, Bradley 63 and Snedeker 66.

Mickelson will play alongside Haas and Bradley in the third round.

“Bill and I have played on a Presidents Cup team, and Keegan and I have been partners in the Ryder Cup and had an incredibly emotional and fun experience together as partners,” Mickelson said. “We’re going to have a fun day tomorrow.”

Jason Dufner, paired with Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, missed the cut by a stroke, ending the tour’s longest active streak of cuts made at 22. Ian Poulter now has the longest streak, 16.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Mickelson Nearly Breaks 36-Hole Mark. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe